Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean," was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He was one of the first well-known jazz musicians to play the tenor saxophone. Joachim E. Berendt explained that before Hawkins, the instrument was not widely recognized as a jazz instrument. Hawkins's biographer, John Chilton, described the styles of tenor saxophone solos before Hawkins as "mooing" and "rubbery belches." Hawkins said he was not the first to play the instrument, but he noted that other musicians, such as Happy Caldwell, Stump Evans, and Prince Robinson, were also playing at the same time. Hawkins was the first to create a method of improvisation that was unique to the saxophone instead of copying the clarinet's techniques. His skilled, flowing style of playing, with a rich, emotional sound and strong vibrato, greatly influenced many tenor saxophonists, including Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas. These musicians later influenced others, such as Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Ike Quebec, Al Sears, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. Hawkins became famous for playing swing music during the big band era, but he also helped develop bebop in the 1940s.

Lester Young, a fellow saxophonist known as the "President of the Tenor Saxophone," said in a 1959 interview with The Jazz Review: "As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the president, first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one." Miles Davis once said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads."

Early life

Coleman Hawkins was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, United States, in 1904. He was named Coleman after his mother, Cordelia, whose maiden name was Coleman. Records show that Hawkins's parents had a daughter who was born in 1901 and passed away at the age of two. At the age of four, Hawkins began studying the piano. When he was seven, he started learning the cello, and by the time he was nine, he was playing the saxophone. By the age of fourteen, he was performing in eastern Kansas. Hawkins attended high school in Chicago and later in Topeka, Kansas, at Topeka High School. He also studied harmony and composition for two years at Washburn College in Topeka while still in high school.

The reason Hawkins was given the nickname "Bean" is unknown. Some people believe the nickname came from the shape of his head, his habit of saying "I haven't a bean" to describe being without money, or his deep understanding of music chords.

Later life and career

Coleman Hawkins's first major job was with Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds in 1921. He worked with the band full-time from April 1922 to 1923, after which he moved to New York City. While in the Jazz Hounds, he played with musicians such as Garvin Bushell, Everett Robbins, Bubber Miley, and Herb Flemming. Hawkins later joined Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra, where he stayed until 1934. During this time, he sometimes played both the clarinet and the bass saxophone. His playing style changed greatly during Louis Armstrong's time in Henderson's Orchestra from 1924 to 1925.

In the late 1920s, Hawkins took part in some of the earliest recording sessions that included both Black and white musicians, such as those with the Mound City Blue Blowers. While with Henderson, he became a well-known soloist and gained fame through his recordings. He recorded several small group performances with Henry "Red" Allen for labels like Perfect, Melotone, Romeo, and Oriole. In 1933–34, he also made solo recordings with piano or a small group of Henderson's musicians, just before traveling to Europe. Hawkins was also part of a recording session with Benny Goodman on February 2, 1934, for Columbia Records, where Mildred Bailey sang as a guest.

In late 1934, Hawkins accepted an invitation to join Jack Hylton's orchestra in London. He toured Europe as a soloist until 1939, performing and recording with musicians like Django Reinhardt and Benny Carter in Paris in 1937. During his time in Europe, other tenor saxophonists in the United States, such as Lester Young, Ben Webster, and Chu Berry, gained more attention. After returning to the United States, Hawkins quickly regained his status as a top tenor saxophonist by improving his playing style.

On October 11, 1939, Hawkins recorded a two-chorus version of the song "Body and Soul" at Bert Kelly's New York venue, Kelly's Stables. This recording, made as an afterthought, is considered a landmark of the swing era. Hawkins played only the first four bars of the melody clearly, ignoring the rest. His use of complex musical ideas in this recording is seen as an early sign of bebop.

Loren Schoenberg, Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, explained that Hawkins had performed "Body and Soul" many times in Europe and had high hopes for this recording. At the time, Lester Young was a major star with the Basie band, and other bands often featured tenor saxophonists influenced by Hawkins. Hawkins's musical knowledge, shaped by listening to artists like Bach, Tatum, and Armstrong, led him to create a unique arrangement for this session.

In 1940, Hawkins briefly led a big band before returning to small group performances at Kelly's Stables on Manhattan's 52nd Street. In 1944, he recorded with small and large groups for Keynote, Savoy, and Apollo labels. Hawkins was known for supporting new talent and styles. He led what is considered the first bebop recording session on February 16, 1944, with musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas, and Max Roach. On October 19, 1944, he led another bebop session with Thelonious Monk on piano, Edward Robinson on bass, and Denzil Best on drums.

Hawkins was inspired by his love for classical music and his desire to express himself freely. During his European tour, he began adding unaccompanied introductions and endings to his songs. In January 1945, he recorded a series of solo performances. Harry Lim, a jazz fan from Java who moved to the United States in 1939, helped create jam sessions in Chicago and New York and later founded Keynote Records. In an article for Metronome magazine in 1944, Lim called Hawkins "the Picasso of Jazz."

In 1945, Hawkins recorded with small groups featuring musicians like Sir Charles Thompson, Howard McGhee, and Vic Dickenson. His work during this time showed a style that blended "modern" and "traditional" jazz. He performed with artists such as Sid Catlett, Tyree Glenn, Hank Jones, and Fats Navarro. He also toured with Jazz at the Philharmonic (JATP) and split his time between New York and Europe, making many recordings.

In the 1950s, Hawkins played with musicians like Red Allen and Roy Eldridge, appearing at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. He recorded an album called Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster with Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, and others. His 1957 album The Hawk Flies High included musicians like J. J. Johnson and Oscar Pettiford, showing his interest in modern jazz styles.

Hawkins's interest in modern styles led to a reunion with Thelonious Monk in 1957. Monk led a session that included Hawkins and John Coltrane, resulting in the album Monk's Music. Outtakes from this session were later released on Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane.

In the 1960s, Hawkins performed regularly at the Village Vanguard in Manhattan. In 1960, he participated in Max Roach's We Insist! suite, which connected jazz to the civil rights movement. At the request of Impulse Records producer Bob Thiele, Hawkins recorded with Duke Ellington for the 1962 album Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins. He also recorded Today and Now with his quartet in 1962, which was praised by The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. In 1963, he recorded Sonny Meets Hawk! with Sonny Rollins for RCA Victor.

After this busy period, Hawkins struggled with depression and heavy drinking, which reduced his recording output. His last recording was in 1967. Hawkins died of liver disease on May 19, 1969, at Wickersham Hospital in Manhattan. He was survived by his wife, Dolores, who died in 2010, and three children: a son, Rene, and two daughters, Colette and Mimi. Hawkins is buried in the Yew Plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.

The Song of the Hawk, a 1990 biography by British jazz historian John Chilton, details Hawkins's career.

Discography

• 1922-47: Classic Coleman Hawkins Sessions 1922-1947 (8xCD) (Mosaic, 2012) Includes many of the earliest recordings with Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds, the Fletcher Henderson with Hawkins solos, and other recordings under his name.
• 1929-41: The Complete Recordings (6xCD) (Affinity, 1992)
• 1944: Rainbow Mist (Delmark, 1992) Apollo recordings
• 1944: The Complete on Keynote (Essential Collection #6) (4xCD) (Mercury, 1986) Keynote recordings
• 1945: Hollywood Stampede (Capitol, ?)
• 1949-53: Bean's Talking Again (Vogue, ?)
• 1952: Disorder at the Border (Spotlite, 1973)
• 1952-53: The Hawk Talks (Decca, 1955)
• 1954: The Hawk Returns (Savoy, 1954)
• 1954: Timeless Jazz (Jazztone, 1954) also released as Jazz Tones (Xanadu, 1984)
• 1955: Accent on Tenor Sax (Urania, 1955)
• 1956.01: The Hawk in Hi Fi (RCA Victor, 1956) with Billy Byers and his orchestra
• 1956.07: The Hawk in Paris (Vik, 1956) with Manny Albam and his orchestra
• 1956-57: The Gilded Hawk (Capitol, 1957) with Glen Osser and his orchestra
• 1957.03: The Hawk Flies High (Riverside, 1957)
• 1957.07: The Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Pete Brown, Jo Jones All Stars at Newport (Verve, 1957)
• 1957.10: Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (Verve, 1957) with Ben Webster
• 1957.10: The Genius of Coleman Hawkins (Verve, 1957)
• 1957.10: Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge, At The Opera House (Verve, 1957)
• 1957.10: Blue Saxophones (Verve, ?)
• 1958.02: Coleman Hawkins and Confrères (Verve, 1958) with the Oscar Peterson Trio, Roy Eldridge and Ben Webster
• 1958.02: The High and Mighty Hawk (Felsted, 1958)
• 1958.04: Jamestown N.Y. 1958 (Uptown, ?)
• 1958.04: The Saxophone Section (World Wide, 1958)
• 1958.08: Sweet Moods of Jazz (Jazz Groove, ?) reissued as High Standards (Jass, ?) and in CD as Standards and Warhorses with the addition of a Red Allen album
• 1958.09: Bean Bags (Atlantic, 1958) with Milt Jackson
• 1958.11: Soul (Prestige, 1958)
• 1959.01: At The Bayou Cluv, Vols. 1 & 2 (Nec Plus Ultra, ?) reissued by Stash with the same title
• 1959.04: Hawk Eyes (Prestige, 1959) with Charlie Shavers and Tiny Grimes
• 1959.08: Coleman Hawkins with the Red Garland Trio (Moodsville, 1959)
• 1960.01: Coleman Hawkins All Stars (Swingville, 1960) with Joe Thomas and Vic Dickenson
• 1960.01: At Ease with Coleman Hawkins (Moodsville, 1960)
• 1960.01: The Hawk Swings (Crown, 1960) reissued in CD with the same title (Boplicity, 2013)
• 1960.01: Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra (Crown, 1960) reissued in CD (Pure Pleasure, 2005)
• 1960.04: Hawk in Germany (Debut, ?) reissued by Fantasy
• 1960.10: Bean Stalkin' (Pablo, ?)
• 1960.12: Night Hawk (Swingville, 1960) with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
• 1961.02: The Hawk Relaxes (Moodsville, 1961)
• 1961.07: Body And Soul (West Wind, ?)
• 1960.04: Pee Wee Russell and Coleman Hawkins, Jazz Reunion (Candid, 1961)
• 1962.03: Good Old Broadway (Moodsville 1962)
• 1962.03: The Jazz Version of No Strings (Moodsville, 1962)
• 1962.06: Disorder At The Border (Milan, ?)
• 1962.08: Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate! (Verve, 1962)
• 1962.08: Hawkins! Alive! At the Village Gate (Verve, 1962)
• 1962.08: Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse!, 1963)
• 1962.08: Plays Make Someone Happy from Do Re Mi (Moodsville, 1962)
• 1962.09: Today and Now (Impulse!, 1962)
• 1962.09: Desafinado (Impulse!, 1962)
• 1962.12: Back in Bean's Bag (Columbia, 1963) with Clark Terry
• 1963.03: The Hawk & the Hunter (Mira, 1965)
• 1963.07: Sonny Meets Hawk! (RCA Victor, 1957)
• 1963.07: Sonny Meets Hawk! (RCA Victor, 1957)
• 1963.07: Sonny Meets Hawk! (RCA Victor, 1957)
• 1963.07: Sonny Meets Hawk! (RCA Victor, 1957)
• 1963.07: Sonny Meets Hawk! (RCA Victor, 1957)
• 1963.07: Sonny Meets Hawk!